


when love looks you in the face

by likeamiracle



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: ChanSoo - Freeform, Fluff, PJO AU, blink and you'll miss it baekchen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22633057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeamiracle/pseuds/likeamiracle
Summary: kyungsoo is a son of aphrodite who knows all too well the ins and outs of love. he'll throw every excuse in the book though to run away from it when he can.mythsoological fest (CS-03)kyungsoo is a demigod son of aphrodite, who doesn’t want to fall into the stereotypical romance with a demigod child of ares. but he can’t seem to stay away from chanyeol, a son of ares who checks off all the boxes on his “ideal man” list. (percy jackson au!)
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 21
Kudos: 138
Collections: Mythsoological Fic Fest





	when love looks you in the face

**Author's Note:**

> please note that i read the percy jackson series like 5 years ago so my memory of how the camp works is a mess but, happy reading~

**beagles (and kyungsoo)**

**baekhyun:** t-minussss one day till our reunion

 **chanyeol:** two days for me

 **baekhyun:** lame. just ditch your basketball game and come to camp already

 **jongdae:** i wouldn’t usually recommend ditching anything but i agree

 **chanyeol:** it’s our championship game. can’t miss it.

 **baekhyun:** ok, troy bolton

 **jongdae:** does that make kyungsoo gabriella?

 **baekhyun:** obviously.

 **jongdae:** so that makes me sharpay.

 **baekhyun:** no i’m sharpay obviously

 **jongdae:** you’ve never even been in a musical. i’ve been in FIVE.

 **baekhyun:** IT’S A MUSICALE!!!

 **baekhyun:** my personality fits sharpay’s more

 **kyungsoo:** WOULD YOU ALL BE QUIET? I’M STUDYING FOR A FINAL

 **baekhyun:** classic gabriella

**private message: yeol**

**yeol:** good luck with your final, soo!! i know you’ll ace it

 **soo:** thanks; good luck with your championship game too

Ever since he was ten and saved from a monster by a satyr, Kyungsoo has always spent his summers in Camp Half-Blood. That first summer, he met Baekhyun (son of Hermes), Jongdae (son of Zeus), and Chanyeol (son of Ares), all Korean and the same age as him, friends who only got to the camp a week earlier than him. The three immediately adopted him into their group. Baekhyun claims it was because they felt bad seeing Kyungsoo crying right after arriving and being told to wait outside by the satyr. Jongdae says it’s like the Fates knew their group needed a fourth member. Chanyeol once admitted he thought Kyungsoo was too cute to leave behind. (He got a punch in the arm for that.)

Fast forward to the present and Kyungsoo is exhausted. Junior year came out of nowhere and buried him under classes, plays with the theater department, and shifts working for his dad’s restaurant. By the last month of the school year, he was already excited to get to Camp Half-Blood and spend his summer with the beagles and his siblings. (Not that he’d ever express that out loud.) His dad drops him off a few hours after his last final of the year with a hug and a number of reminders.

A few campers are already back and Kyungsoo pauses at the top of the hill and smiles. He loves his town with his dad and his school and his blessedly normal and human friends but every time he returns to Camp Half Blood, it always just feels like a true home.

“KYUNGSOOOOO! IS THAT YOU?”

“Baekhyun-” Kyungsoo greets before he gets tackled to the ground.

“What the hell, Byun?!”

“Kyungsoo, I missed you.” Baekhyun hugs him tighter and he’s lucky Kyungsoo is in a good enough mood that he doesn’t punch the son of Hermes off him.

“Baekhyun, did you break him?” Kyungsoo cranes his head and sees Jongdae standing over them.

“Hey, Jongdae.”

“Hey, Kyungsoo. Need help bringing your things to your cabin?”

“Yeah, please.” Kyungsoo finally pushes Baekhyun off and picks up his bags. The son of Hermes just quickly brushes the dirt off and helps with a suitcase.

The trio make their way easily to Kyungsoo’s cabin. Aphrodite cabin. As stereotypes go, Kyungsoo knows he doesn’t fit the bill for what most campers think of a child of Aphrodite. He wears all black all the time, doesn’t particularly care for looks, and hasn’t been featured in any modeling job unlike a majority of his siblings. You would expect that Kyungsoo wouldn’t fit in with his siblings but he genuinely likes them all. He would fight anyone who dared pigeonhole his brothers and sisters as being vapid airheads who only spend their time gossiping.

“No, as I was saying, High School Musical 2 is clearly the superior High School Musical movie.” Baekhyun’s voice cuts through the blessed silence.

“Now, that’s just bullshit.” Jongdae starts.

“Okay, _stop._ ”

The two immediately go quiet before the argument escalates.

“Wow, Kyungja. Your charmspeak control got better.” Baekhyun comments as he pushes the suitcase beside Kyungsoo’s bed.

“Definitely would come in handy for capture the flag this summer.” Jongdae adds.

Kyungsoo only rolls his eyes, not bothering to ask questions. He’ll probably get the explanation later.

“Well, thanks for the help. See you at dinner.”

“Tch. Such a curt goodbye, Kyungja. Your hyungs’ hearts are pained.”

“Truly sorry then.” Kyungsoo replies in a trademark deadpan tone. “I’ll share my kimbap with you later by the way. Dad gave me too much.”

“Aww, you do like us.”

“Sure.”

Baekhyun and Jongdae share a smile as Kyungsoo turns away to unpack. The son of Aphrodite’s signs of affection always came hidden in offers of food and veiled, curt responses.

“Bye, Kyungja.” The two say in unison before heading to the door.

//

Dinner that night speeds by with many of the campers filling the tables and trading stories about their school years with their siblings. Aphrodite table is alight with conversation and Kyungsoo feels himself practically sighing in contentment, listening to his brothers and sisters.

“I bet that this is the summer Kyungsoo and Chanyeol finally get together.” Sehun says confidently, gaining Kyungsoo’s attention.

“Ooh, the old Chansoo bet. How many summers have you been betting that, Sehunnie?” Sooyoung giggles.

“Two. I have a good feeling about this summer though.” Sehun pats his chest and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at the ridiculousness.

“Why the eye roll, Kyungsoo?”

“It’s just so cliché. The idea of Chanyeol and me. Ares and Aphrodite. Childhood friends to lovers. It’s practically fanfiction material.”

“Those make for great stories though. You know, Mom loves those.”

“Besides Kyungsoo, it’s not like Chanyeol isn’t your ideal type.”

“I never said he was.”

“Please. Tall? Pretty face? Smiles like the sun? Kind-hearted? You might as well could have just said Park Chanyeol.” Sehun finishes off with a smirk.

Kyungsoo fills with regret as he remembers the night he stayed up a little too late with his siblings and ended up oversharing a few summers ago.

“There are many tall, pretty-faced, smiley, kind-hearted people in the world, Sehun.”

“Sure, but only one in your heart.” Kyungsoo throws a napkin at him but Sehun just bats it off.

“Mark my words, Kyungsoo! My gut feelings are never wrong!”

//

The next morning, Aphrodite cabin gets assigned to archery along with Athena cabin. Sehun is fairly enthusiastic despite his usual apathy to archery.

“Hi, Kyungsoo hyung! Sehunnie!” Kim Jongin softly called out as he waved almost goofily at the pair and Sehun immediately bounds over to his best friend.

The rest of the session flies by fairly easily. The two campers from Apollo cabin assigned to head the activity just amble along and let everyone take turns to practice.

“Kyungsoo!!” was all the warning Kyungsoo gets before getting tackled and smothered into a hug by none other than Park Chanyeol. Kyungsoo gets the unfortunate view over the taller boy’s shoulders of his siblings hiding their smiles and Sehun whispering to Jongin.

“Yeol.” Kyungsoo states evenly before punching the other boy in the stomach and scowling.

“Ow. That hurt, Soo. Is that really how you greet me?” Chanyeol wheezes out, doubled over from the punch to his stomach.

The scowl melts off Kyungsoo’s face and he sighs.

“Hi, Chanyeol.”

“Hi, Kyungsoo. I missed you.”

Chanyeol raises his head and beams at Kyungsoo in that eternally delighted way he has always smiled at Kyungsoo. His smile feels like a sucker punch to Kyungsoo’s stomach.

Last summer, Chanyeol had a growth spurt that he clearly was still getting used to and he had an unfortunate perm that his mother made him get. Now though…

Now, Kyungsoo feels like he’s seeing the after photo of a makeover. Maybe it was the result of all the basketball practices and the constant work-outs or maybe it was the work of Aphrodite herself but Chanyeol has never looked better. A glow-up to end all glow-ups. Kyungsoo’s eyes look down for a moment and pause on the other’s well-toned arms. 

Chanyeol’s hair is also now this sunshine shade of blonde and it frames his face in all the right ways. Somehow, his face is even prettier, handsomer, cuter. And oh gods, this is so unfair…. 

“Soo, is something on my face?”

“No. Just your idiocy.” Kyungsoo quickly turns away. “Now, go away. I have to practice my aim.”

//

Kyungsoo decides to make a pact with himself. He has lasted many summers, arguing that Chanyeol is most definitely not attractive and he most definitely does not have feelings for his best friend. He’s tall, absurdly so. The height must be a curse from the gods considering how many times Chanyeol’s fallen over due to his own clumsiness. He has huge ears, earning him the nickname of Yoda for a couple summers. He has a way too wide smile, all of his teeth shining at Kyungsoo when he gives those goofy ass grins. He dyes his hair too much too that Kyungsoo swears his scalp must be dying.

“Why are you burning a hole through Chanyeol’s head?” Baekhyun asks, startling the other.

“His stupid blonde hair looks like a lemon tree puked on his head.”

“Oh, so you like it.”

“I just called it stupid.”

“Please, Kyungsoo. When are you going to stop being so emotionally constipated and just admit you’ve had a crush on Chanyeol since the first summer?”

“I don’t know. When are you going to stop being irritating and finally confess to Jongdae instead of starting arguments with him every other conversation?”

The two then level glares at one another, locked into an impasse as always.

“Are you two fighting again?” Jongdae approaches the two.

“No.” The two both answer in unison and look away.

Jongdae sighs and shakes his head, too used to their dynamic. “Anyways, I told Chanyeol to meet us now. We can finally discuss our capture the flag plans.”

“You mean, our world domination plans.” Baekhyun chimes in gleefully.

“Oh. I actually have to go. Kitchen duty.” Kyungsoo stutters out as he half runs in the furthest direction.

“Do we even have a kitchen?” Jongdae belatedly asks as they stare at Kyungsoo’s quickly retreating figure.

//

It was rare for Kyungsoo to get a quiet afternoon so he enjoyed any chance he could to read one of Sehun’s mangas and listen to some music. He is deep into a chapter when someone rips off his headphones.

Kyungsoo raises his gaze, prepared to give whoever interrupted him hell. His eyes meet Joohyun’s and he immediately presses his lips together to quell his protest. The Aphrodite cabin leader looks far from amused as she stares down her younger brother.

“Your boyfriend has been yelling your name the past three minutes and now I can’t concentrate on my book.”

As if on cue, Chanyeol’s voice booms through the room.

“KYUNGSOOOO!! ARE YOU THERE?”

Kyungsoo cringes and snatches his headphones back. “Please tell him I’m not here. He’ll probably go away then.”

Joohyun only raises an eyebrow before heading to the door.

Kyungsoo puts his headphones back on. After a minute, the weight shifts on the edge of his bed and he knows exactly who it is without looking up.

“Kyungsooooo~”

It was wishful thinking to think he’d go away. Kyungsoo turns his head to see Joohyun back on her bed, discreetly lifting her book to hide her face away.

“Soooo~”

“Yes, Chanyeol?”

“Are you hiding from me?”

Kyungsoo coughs and pretends to focus on fixing the snacks and manga volumes he has on his bed. “No. I’ve just been busy with Aphrodite cabin, catching up with all my siblings. There’s more of us here than in your cabin.”

“I called your name a couple times after dinner last night though.”

“I didn’t hear you.”

Kyungsoo can just imagine the disbelief cross Chanyeol’s expression at the moment. The scrunch of his nose, the funny furrow of his eyebrows, and the puppy pout on his lips.

“Okay, Soo. Well, I wanted to give you something.”

Chanyeol lays a box down on top of the pile of items Kyungsoo has in front of him. Kyungsoo sees the logo of his favorite bakery in New York and gasps.

“I remember you mentioning you really liked these cookies when you went on your class trip so I asked my coach if I could get them when we were in New York for the game.”

“Thank you, Yeol. I feel bad I only have food from Dad’s restaurant to share with you.”

“No, no. I love your Dad’s food!! I’m glad you really like the cookies.” Chanyeol reaches over and holds Kyungsoo’s hand, a gesture of affection Chanyeol has often done as they grew up, but Kyungsoo’s heart speeds up at the contact.

“D-do you want to have the food now? I can heat it up. One of my siblings sneaked in a microwave.” Kyungsoo immediately gets up and heads to the microwave.

He looks back to see Chanyeol has already made himself comfortable on Kyungsoo’s bed, picking a manga volume for himself and carefully moving Kyungsoo’s things to make space for him to lie down.

_Guess there goes his plan to avoid Chanyeol until his feelings disappear._

//

Fresh from victory and a good Capture the Flag game, Baekhyun and Jongdae had insisted on a celebration of sorts. This is how Kyungsoo ends up squished in between Chanyeol and Jongin, a group of their friends gathered around a campfire. Baekhyun somehow came with marshmallows and chocolate bars for s’mores as well as other snacks.

“Let’s play truth or dare!” Baekhyun shouts, face still alight after retelling the highlights of the game to an attentive Jongdae and a less attentive couple of others.

“That’s lame.” Minseok from Athena cabin immediately shoots it down.

“Minseokkie~ Come onnn! It’ll be fun.” Baekhyun says, insistent as ever. “Jongdae’s in.”

“Jongdae is always in when it comes to your plans.” Kyungsoo points out, pretending not to notice his friends’ twin blushes at that.

“Oh, come on, Soo. It’ll be fun.” Chanyeol says, hitting his shoulder.

“I’ll join too. Sounds fun.” Junmyeon, the lone son of Poseidon in the camp, expresses and with that, everyone ends up gathering around to play.

The first few rounds fly by fairly normally. Baekhyun dares Yixing from Apollo cabin to sing a love song to a forest spirit. A few get questions on previous camp crushes. Junmyeon gets dared to do a Tiktok dance and Jongin ends up having to teach him one on the spot. Sehun gets dared to hug Jongin for a whole minute, which Jongdae swears is a friendship exercise he saw in some Youtube video.

“Chanyeol~ Truth or dare?” Sehun then asks excitedly.

“Truth.”

“If you had to date anyone in this group, who would it be?” 

“You can say it’s me, Chanyeollie~” Baekhyun says, teasingly. Kyungsoo’s stomach flips as Chanyeol pauses then looks at him.

“Kyungsoo probably. We talk a lot so I think we really match well.”

The others coo at Chanyeol’s statement. Sehun looks like he just won an award and Kyungsoo reaches across Jongin to slap his younger brother on the arm.

Kyungsoo dares to glance at Chanyeol to find him looking already at him.

“Take your turn, Yeol.” Kyungsoo mumbles and looks away. He makes sure to keep a few safe centimeters between them or else Chanyeol will hear his rushing pulse and racing thoughts if that’s possible.

//

The sun is awfully hot and Kyungsoo raises his hand to try to shield his eyes.

“Need some shade, dear?” A familiar voice calls out and Kyungsoo turns to see a pair of beach chairs underneath a large umbrella a few meters from him. A woman is seated on one of the chairs, dressed in a flowy white sundress, hair done in an elaborate updo, and face half covered by a pair of sunglasses.

“Mother?”

“How many times do I need to tell you to call me Mom, Kyungsoo? Mother makes me sound so old.”

Kyungsoo only scoffs at that before walking over and taking a seat beside his mother. The last time Aphrodite had graced his dreams was during the first night of his play. His mother gushed over how proud she was to have a dashing actor for a son (Kyungsoo did not feel dashing at all considering his eyebags from nights of practice and the unfortunate acne breakout on his chin that week.) and how she wanted Kyungsoo to nudge his theater director along to consider the gym teacher’s offer for a date.

“Lemonade, dear?”

“No, thank you.”

Aphrodite merely shrugs and pours herself a glass.

“So, why’d you visit me, Mom?

“Can’t a good mother visit because she wants to see her favorite child?”

“Favorite child? Really? Over Joohyun?”

“Okay, a top 5 qualifier for my favorite child. I really do enjoy seeing you, Kyungsoo.”

“Thanks.”

“Tch, you’re just like your father. Always so tight-lipped about affection.” Aphrodite reaches over and ruffles her son’s hair.

They both settle into silence after that, Aphrodite sipping from her glass of lemonade and Kyungsoo admiring the view of the sea.

“You know, Kyungsoo…” Aphrodite looks reflective as she stares out to the sea. “You really do remind me a lot of your dad. Maybe that’s why I’m so fond of you because I really was- no- _am_ fond of him. Sometimes, I still visit your restaurant in a disguise and it reminds me of how he and I used to be. He wouldn’t tell me that he loved me but he showed it a lot. When it mattered most though, he wasn’t afraid to express it.”

“I hope, Kyungsoo, that the next time you stare love in the face…” Aphrodite takes off her sunglasses then and her hair shifts to blonde waves. It is now Chanyeol’s eyes that turn to look right at him. “Stop running and take courage.”

//

As much as he wouldn’t want to admit it, Kyungsoo is bothered by his mother’s words. He hates being bothered.

“Stop scowling.” Sooyoung tells him. “You’ll have lines on your face when you get old.”

“I’m not scowling.” Kyungsoo responds and Sooyoung then gives him a face. He looks away and scans the tables to make sure everyone, especially the trouble twins he calls his friends, are preoccupied with dinner.

“I’m taking a walk.”

“Stay safe.” Joohyun waves him off with a smile.

The night is quiet. Kyungsoo’s feet take him to his usual spot near the lakeside. In summer number three, he and the beagles found a spot by the trees with some abandoned picnic tables that they often came to. He finds Chanyeol there already surprisingly, face set in an unreadable manner.

Chanyeol looks up and immediately smiles when he sees Kyungsoo.

“You okay?”

“I’m just thinking. Mind if I sit with you?” Chanyeol shrugs and Kyungsoo takes a seat right across.

“Hey, I’m sorry about last night. If I made you feel awkward, I mean.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Sehun can be so Sehun sometimes so I’m not surprised he asked a question like that. I mean, it was just for the game, right?”

Chanyeol doesn’t answer and a few seconds of quiet pass. Kyungsoo doesn’t want to push and he debates starting another topic. Part of his heart screams that this is a chance for him to finally be honest with himself, with Chanyeol. But what does he even say? _Chanyeol, I’ve been in love with you since our first summer together, when you smiled at me and grabbed my hand so I could catch up with you and Baekhyun and Jongdae. Gods, that’s so unbearably cliché._

“Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol’s voice calls to him and he startles as he feels Chanyeol’s hand grab his.

Kyungsoo shakily dares to look at his best friend’s beautiful face and finds Chanyeol looking at him with a small, fond smile that makes him look away.

“I figure we’ve been dancing around it enough.”

“Dancing around what?” Kyungsoo knows exactly what but he finds all the right words getting trapped in his chest.

“This.” Chanyeol gestures to the space between them. “Us.”

Kyungsoo bites his lip then. Chanyeol laughs nervously but continues anyways.

“Soo. Do Kyungsoo. I like you. Please don’t hit me but I wasn’t lying when I said the first time I saw you crying by the Big House, I thought that you were too cute to leave alone and I really wanted to be by your friend. That hasn’t changed at all. I just always want to be with you because you are my favorite person. I’m sorry this confession is coming so out of the blue. I know you hate surprises but it’s been a long time coming now. I like you. Really like you. I don’t want to force you into anything though so I’m willing to wait for you.”

“Th-thank you,” Kyungsoo’s only ever dealt with the few confessions through middle school that he’s rejected so he’s quite lost and even more lost at how to respond. The way Chanyeol looks at him now fills him with determination.

_I hope, Kyungsoo, that the next time you stare love in the face, stop running and take courage._

“I run away a lot. I think you know that.” Kyungsoo shakily starts and Chanyeol squeezes his hand in encouragement. “Yeol, I really like you too. I’ve just been too me. So sorry for that.”

“I like you being you though.” Chanyeol enthuses and Kyungsoo can’t help but smile despite the nerves still in his stomach.

“Yeah, well…. I ran away because I was scared that I was the only one with feelings and I just refused to acknowledge that I even liked you. You made it hard when you showed up with your glow-up and blonde hair and-“

“I dyed it blonde just for youuu…” Chanyeol leans closer and Kyungsoo fights his blush and pushes him away.

“Shut up, Yeol. I’m trying to properly finish my confession here.”

“Sorry.” Chanyeol doesn’t look the least bit sorry as he smiles widely and gods, why does Kyungsoo feel charmed by that?

“Anyway, I kept insisting we shouldn’t date in my head because we’d be a cliché. Aphrodite-Ares. Childhood best friends to boyfriends or whatever we’ll be.”

Chanyeol tilts his head to the side. “I like the sound of boyfriends.”

“I.. I like it too.”

“I just always thought you felt like my other half. Like we just match, don’t you think?” Chanyeol eagerly asks as if they didn’t just confess to each other.

“I think so. Doesn’t the fact that we talk so well mean we match well with each other?” Kyungsoo laughs at how Chanyeol perks up with his answer and doesn’t even mind how Chanyeol swings their hands around in his excitement.

As cliché as it is, they both quiet down and Kyungsoo can’t help but like so much how he has all the excuses now to just look at Chanyeol and not look away anymore from the other’s fond or goofy or excited gazes.

“So, boyfriends?” Chanyeol asks.

“Boyfriends.” Kyungsoo replies. 

**Author's Note:**

> hi~ so honestly, writing this fic turned to a struggle for me since i had so many ideas but not enough time to put everything in (graduate school is such a drain of time and energy). so i’m really sorry if this turned out rushed. 
> 
> on the other hand, i really hope you all enjoyed this. i usually write chansoo as college students or yk adults that are doing adult things like working so it was fun having them as goofy teenagers. but also i realize now how much i put in scenes of chansoo buying each other food/giving each other food in my fics which i guess flows from my life and my love language (or maybe it’s a cultural thing??)
> 
> thank you so much to you, the lovely readers. i sincerely hope you enjoy all the fics in this fest. my biggest thanks goes to the mods as well for being so patient and accommodating especially with how i always struggled to submit for the deadlines till to the end.
> 
> all the best~ as kyungsoo says, health is the most important thing so take care of yourselves!!


End file.
